Backlight Module of Flat Panel Display

ABSTRACT

A backlight module of a flat panel display for lighting the flat panel display is described. The backlight module includes a rear bezel, a plurality of lamps, an optical film and a middle bezel. The rear bezel is composed of a bezel main body and sidewalls. The bezel main body includes a plurality of ribs to enhance the strength thereof and a plurality of studs to fix with a wall mounting bracket or a foot stand. The middle bezel fixes the optical film on the rear bezel. The backlight module may further include a plurality of supports integrated the rear bezel. A reflective film may also be integrated on the rear bezel to further reduce the quantity of separable components of the flat panel display.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/476,504,filed Jun. 28, 2006, which is based on, and claims priority from, TaiwanApplication Serial Number 94146552, filed on Dec. 26, 2005, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a backlight module of a flatpanel display. More particularly, this invention relates to a bezel of abacklight module for a large size liquid crystal display.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Rapid development in information technology has raised consumerexpectations and the demand for electronic devices with superior audioand video quality. The large volume of conventional cathode ray tube(CRT) displays makes them unsuitable for use in multimedia applications.Therefore, many flat panel displays such as liquid crystal display(LCD), plasma display panel (PDP), and field emission display (FED) havebeen recently developed. LCD displays are thin, light, short and smallmonitors, and they are thus becoming the mainstream display apparatus.

Rapid progress in both optical technology and semiconductor technologyhas enabled liquid crystal displays (LCD) to be applied in a diverserange of electrical products. Moreover, with the advantages of highimage quality, compact size, light weight, low driving voltage, and lowpower consumption, LCDs have been introduced into portable computers,personal digital assistants, color televisions, and are graduallyreplacing cathode ray tubes (CRT) used in conventional displays.

Furthermore, the market share and size of large size LCDs have bothincreased and currently some of the large size LCDs are bigger thanconventional PDP displays. Mainstream LCDs use a backlight type ofliquid crystal display comprising a liquid crystal panel in the frontportion and a backlight module in the rear portion. Therefore, largesize LCDs need a large enough backlight module to light up the liquidcrystal panel.

LCDs normally utilize cold cathode fluorescent lamps in the backlightmodule and optical films to uniformly distribute the light to the liquidcrystal layer of the liquid crystal panel. The cold cathode fluorescentlamps, the optical films, and even the liquid crystal panel are fixed ona rear bezel, and the rear bezel is further fixed to a wall mountingbracket or a foot stand to allow the LCD can be hung on a wall or standalone.

Large size liquid crystal displays are increasingly large and thestrength of the rear bezel must necessarily be increasingly strong. Theweight and tooling cost of a conventional metal rear bezel are thereforealso increasing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a rear bezel fora flat panel display for effectively reducing the total weight of therear bezel and offering enough strength to support the components of theflat panel display.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a rear bezelfor a flat panel display which is integrated with the reflective filmsbehind the lamps to effectively reduce the total manufacturing cost ofthe liquid crystal display.

It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a rearbezel for a flat panel display which is integrated with the reflectivefilms and the lamp fixers to further reduce the total manufacturing costof the liquid crystal display.

It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a rearbezel for a flat panel display that utilizes ribs and sidewalls toenhance the total strength of the rear bezel and further utilizesupporting studs to attach the rear bezel with a wall mounting bracketand/or a foot stand.

To accomplish the above objectives, the present invention provides abacklight module for a flat panel display. The backlight module includesa first bezel, such as a rear bezel, a plurality of lamps, an opticalfilm, and a second bezel, such as a middle bezel. The first bezel iscomposed of a bezel main body and a sidewall structure. One side of thebezel main body includes a plurality of ribs interlaced thereon toreinforce the strength of the first bezel and a plurality of studs tocouple to a foot stand and/or a wall mounting bracket.

A plurality of lamps are disposed on the other side of the first bezeland at least one optical film is disposed on the lamps. A second bezelis further disposed on the optical film to clamp the optical film withthe first bezel.

The backlight module further includes a plurality of lamp supportsintegrated on the bezel main body to support the foregoing lamps. Thebacklight module further includes a reflective film integrated on thebezel main body to effectively reflect the light generated by the lamps.The bezel main body is preferably made of a material with highreflection coefficient, or a material with a high reflection coefficientis coated on the bezel main body.

The first bezel can further include at least one positioning protrusionintegrated on the sidewall of the first bezel to couple to at least onepositioning opening of the optical film so as to secure the optical filmon the first bezel. The supporting stud is preferably a round stud or apolygonal stud. The ribs constitute a plurality of reinforced lattices,for example, square reinforced lattices or polygonal reinforced latticessuch as honeycomb reinforced lattices.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a flat paneldisplay including the foregoing backlight module to simplify theassembling process for the flat panel display and further reduce theweight and cost of the flat panel display. In addition, a printedcircuit board can be disposed on a space between the surface of thebezel main body and the stud protruding from the surface of the bezelmain body. The circuit board can be shaded by a metal film or box toprevent from electromagnetic waves.

Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a firstbezel of a flat panel display to integrate the reflection film, aplurality of ribs, a plurality of sidewalls and a plurality of studs toreduce the number of components on the flat panel display and make iteasier to assemble the flat panel display.

Hence, the backlight module of the flat panel display according to thepresent invention utilizes an integrated first bezel to reduce the totalweight of the flat panel display and further utilizes the ribs andsidewalls to reinforce the strength of the first bezel to effectivelysupport the flat panel display components. The flat panel can furtherintegrate supporting studs directly on the first bezel to convenientlybe connected to the foot stand and/or the wall mounting bracket. Inaddition, the reflective film and the lamp supporters can also beintegrated on the first bezel to simplify the assembling processes ofthe flat panel display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of theflat panel display according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of a backlight module of thepreferred embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a preferred embodiment of a real bezel of a backlight moduleof the flat panel display according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a top view and a side view of the preferredembodiment of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following description is currently the best implementation of thepresent invention. This description is not to be taken in a limitingsense but is made merely to describe the general principles of theinvention. The scope of the invention should be determined byreferencing the appended claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of theflat panel display according to the present invention. The flat paneldisplay 100 is composed of of a third bezel 110, such as a front bezel,a display panel 120, a second bezel 130, such as a middle bezel, atleast one optical film 140, and a first bezel module 150, such as a rearbezel module. The optical film 140 is, for example, a diffusion film, abrightness enhancement film and/or a combination thereof. The secondbezel 130, the optical film 140, and the first bezel module 150 togetherconstitute a backlight module of the flat panel display 100 to create alight source for the display panel 120.

Referring to FIG. 2 simultaneously, FIG. 2 illustrates a partiallyexploded view of a backlight module of the preferred embodiment ofFIG. 1. The first bezel module 150 further includes a first bezel 160,such as a rear bezel, at least one reflective film 156 disposed on thefirst bezel 160, lamp supports 158, cold cathode fluorescent lamps 152,and lamp fixers 154. The reflective film 156 maximizes the brightness ofthe light generated by the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 152 on thefront panel display 120 by effectively reflecting the light towards thedirection of the display panel 120 and by preventing any light fromescaping through the first bezel 160. The reflected film 156 is securedon the first bezel 160 with lamp fixers 154. The lamp supports 158safely support the slim cold cathode fluorescent lamps 152 to preventthe cold cathode fluorescent lamps 152 from being damaged duringtransportation and/or assembly.

In addition, for uniformly distributing the light on the display panel120, the optical film 140 is used in the backlight module and fixedbetween the second bezel 130 and the first bezel 160, which is coupledwith the second bezel 130. The optical film 140 further includespositioning indentations 142 and/or positioning holes 144 thereon tocouple to the positioning protrusions 153 on the lamp fixers 154 toconveniently position the optical film 140 on the first bezel 160.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment ofa real bezel of a backlight module of a flat panel display according tothe present invention, and FIG. 4 is a top view and a side view thereof.The first bezel 160 includes a bezel main body 180 surrounded by asidewall 172, a sidewall 174, a sidewall 176, and a sidewall 178.

The bezel main body 180 further includes a first surface and a secondsurface. The first surface of the bezel main body 180, i.e. a backsideof the first bezel 160, has a plurality of ribs 164 in conjunction withthe sidewalls 172, 174, 176, 178 to reinforce the strength of the bezelmain body 180. Accordingly, the first bezel 160 can support thecomponents of the flat panel display 100. In addition, while combinedwith a plurality of supporting studs 162 on the first surface of thebezel main body 180, the flat panel display 100 can effectively be fixedwith a foot stand and/or a wall mounting bracket.

A second surface of the bezel main body 180, i.e. the inner side of thefirst bezel 160, is preferably formed with a reflective film 170 thereonto reflect the light generated by the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 152to the display panel 120.

The ribs 164 formed on the backside of the first bezel 160 construct aplurality of reinforced lattices, for example, square lattices and/orpolygonal lattices such as honeycomb lattices, to reinforce the strengthof the bezel main body 180. The supporting studs 162 can be roundsupporting studs and/or polygonal supporting studs to couple to the footstand and/or the wall mounting bracket for the flat panel display 100 sothat the flat panel display 100 can be hung on the wall or stand alone.Since the supporting studs 162 protrude from the bezel main body 180 ata predetermined height, the circuit board, for example, a printedcircuit board, of the flat panel display 100 can be fixed on the firstsurface of the first bezel 160. The printed circuit board can beprotected from interference by electromagnetic wave emissions by beingcovered with a metal film or a metal box.

The first bezel 160 of the backlight module for the flat panel displaycan be made of a plastic material or any other material that can beintegrally formed the first bezel 160. Accordingly, the weight of thefirst bezel can be effectively reduced. Since the supporting studs 162protruding from the first bezel 160 can be directly fixed to the footstand and the wall mounting bracket, and it is not necessary to use anadditional bracket to couple the flat panel display to the foot standand the wall mounting bracket so the manufacturing cost and processescan be reduced.

The reflective film 170 can also be directly formed on the secondsurface of the first bezel 160, that is, integrated on the bezel mainbody 180, to reflect the light of the cold cathode fluorescent lamps152. Since the reflective film 170 can be integrated on the first bezel160 with plastic injection molding, the separable components of the flatpanel display 100 and the assembling processes for the flat paneldisplay 100 are both reduced. The reflective film 170 is preferably madeof a material with a high reflection coefficient to improve thereflection effect of the light. Accordingly, the whole first bezel 160can be made of a material with a high reflection coefficient. Otherwise,the first bezel 160 can be made of two kinds of plastic materials withtwo shot injection molding technology. In addition, the reflective film170 can also be formed on the second surface of the first bezel bypainting a high reflection coating thereon.

The first bezel 160 further includes a plurality of lamp fixingindentations 166 to dispose the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 152therein. Referring to FIG. 4, the lamp supports 168 can be integrated onthe first bezel 160 to further reduce the assembling components of theflat panel display 100, simplify the assembling process of the flatpanel display 100 and cost down the manufacturing cost. In addition, thepositioning protrusions 153 can also be integrated on the first bezel160 to couple to the positioning indentation 142 and the positioningholes 144 on the optical films 140 for positioning the optical films140.

The backlight module of the flat panel display according to the presentinvention uses a material such as plastic to integrate the rear bezelthereof so that the weight can be effectively reduced. In conjunctionwith the ribs and sidewalls, the rear bezel can support the componentsof the flat panel display. Furthermore, supporting studs directly formedon the rear bezel can be conveniently fixed to the wall mounting bracketand the foot stand. In addition, the integrated reflective film and lampsupports can further reduce the assembling process of the flat paneldisplay.

As is understood by a person skilled in the art, the foregoing preferredembodiments of the present invention are illustrative of the presentinvention rather than limiting of the present invention. It is intendedthat various modifications and similar arrangements be included withinthe spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which shouldbe accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and similar structures.

1. A rear bezel, comprising: a bezel main body having a first surfaceand a second surface opposite to the first surface; a plurality of ribsformed on the first surface; a plurality of sidewalls formed around thebezel main body; and a plurality of studs formed on the first surfaceand connected to the ribs.
 2. The rear bezel of claim 1, furthercomprising a plurality of lamp supports formed on the second surface ofthe bezel main body.